Morning Glory is a surprisingly affecting tale of a young, fiercely independent woman who believes in herself and her abilities. The plot follows Becky Fuller (McAdams), a TV producer who gets hired to rejuvenate the failing morning show Daybreak. Because of her age, nobody takes her seriously. But when she fires one of the co-anchors and hires news legend Mike Pomeroy (Ford) to take his place, people start cheering her on. Her handsome coworker Adam Bennett (Wilson) even asks her out on a date. But her challenges are far from over, as the ratings plummet further down and her boss (Goldblum) informs her that the parent broadcasting company may cancel the show altogether.
We all know this story. We all know the stresses of daily life and the balancing act between our professional and personal goals. We all know the trite romance that will develop between the handsome man and awkward woman. This movie deals with the former with aplomb and thankfully downplays the latter. But Morning Glory is also surprising in a lot of ways. It delves into a different kind of relationship rarely portrayed in cinema: the family dynamic that emerges after working with people day in and day out. It treats the coworker interaction as a special, cherished kind of relationship that is equally as important as the relationships we develop in our free time. It examines the workplace as a joyous environment, challenging but rewarding, filled with obstacles and solutions, instead of a miserable existence we so commonly hear about.
This movie succeeds not because of cinematography or editing, but because of convincing portrayals by the actors. You can see every bit of excitement and nervousness and determination in McAdams's eyes. Underneath Ford's gruff, monotone voice is a depth and texture that is not immediately apparent. It is so much more fascinating than him playing a jaded old curmudgeon. Morning Glory is a movie about love in a very nontraditional way. It's about loving ourselves, establishing priorities and dreams and never letting them go. This is an inspiring and uplifting movie. And here I was thinking it was just going to be another romantic comedy. I'm glad I was wrong.
IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1126618/